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Monday, May 7, 2012

Comic Book Goodness

We saw The Avengers yesterday. I was considering doing a full review, but why? It did so well this weekend, and promises to continue doing well for a such a long while, that virtually everyone will see it anyways, so what impact could my comments have? That being said, it was brilliant! Loved it! Just about every minute was awesome. There were a couple of spots that annoyed me, but nothing that detracted from the film. We saw it in 3D, but honestly, it would have been fine in 2D. The 3D was good, but not over-the-top. One other note; I am now completely sold on Mark Rufffalo as Bruce Banner.

Before that, Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. So, between my wife, my daughter and me, we got a good stack of free stuff, with only one duplicate (stupid Dark Horse, and their reversible double-issues). Of course the annual Atomic Robo issue is always a treat. The series itself is really cool, but the FCBD issues are self-contained, and don’t feel like they “require” you to continue reading (unlike the Marvel ones).

These two elements, combined with the fact that I have watched more than a few comic-based animated films on NetFlix recently, have me almost wanting to collect comics again. Which I’m well aware is the point of FCBD. However, comic books have become an investment these days. Used to be, you could collect a single title, or maybe a small handful, and get the complete story. But not so anymore. Now, with so many crossovers and over-arching storylines, you have to practically buy everything on the shelf to get the whole story. And I just can’t afford that.

This makes me wish that someone would start a comic book company with four-color superheroes, but in self-contained titles. If I want to read Amazing-Dude, I don’t want to have to also read The Avenging League, and all the members’ individual titles, just to get the whole story. I’d like to be able to read 3-4 titles a month and be happy. But, with so much digital media and everything else out there, such a business model no longer works for a medium that has remained in its current form, virtually unchanged, since the 60’s.

So, chances are, I will not be buying comics. Instead, I may start buying occasional graphic novels that collect individual issues together, and tell a complete story. Then I can pick and choose what I read.

Also, we need to see Marvel’s Hercules on the big screen. He needs an individual movie, and then be included in The Avengers 2. It won’t happen, though. The Avengers and all of the other current Marvel movies are highly tied to the “Ultimate” Universe of Marvel (which is why we have Sam Jackson as Nick Fury), and in that universe, there is no Hercules. So, if I want to see my favorite Olympian on the big screen, I will have to wait for a movie based on the mythology. Still, it would be cool to see Herc and Thor go at it like they do in the comics.

3 comments:

I sporadically collect comics. Even titles I enjoy I seem to run out of steam. I didn't grow up collecting issues so, like you, I prefer the quick fix and self-containment of graphic novels. But there are risks there - always six months behind and what if a story isn't offered as a collected tpb?

I need to write a post about my thought on the New 52 first Superman arcs soon, too.

My son turned 10 Thursday, so for part of his birthday I took him to the local comic store on Saturday and then to the Avengers yesterday (because all the Saturday showings sold out before I could get tickets). We loved the movie.

He's getting to the age where he's interested in comics, so he will probably start buying a few titles. Like, you I'm waiting for the reprints cause I don't want to read every book a company publishes to get the full story.